Claudia (also known as Claudia, the Story of a Marriage) is an American television program that was broadcast live on NBC January 6, 1952 - March 23, 1952 and on CBS March 31, 1952 - June 30, 1952. The situation comedy was based on Rose Franken's short stories and novels about a young woman's romance.[1]
At age 18, Claudia Brown, a somewhat naive teenage girl, married David Naughton, an architect. Adapted from the radio series Claudia and David, episodes focused on their lives, especially Claudia's struggles as she adjusted to married life.[2] The concept was also adapted into the Broadway play Claudia (1941) and the films Claudia (1943) and Claudia and David (1946).[3] In addition to Claudia and David, story lines involved David's brother and sister (Harley and Julia) and Claudia's mother (Mrs. Brown).[4]
The program's actors and the characters that they portrayed are shown in the table below.
| Actor | Character | |
|---|---|---|
| Claudia Naughton | ||
| David Naughton | ||
| Mrs. Brown | ||
| Faith Brook Dora Sayers | Julia Naughton | |
| Alex Clark William Post, Jr. | Harley Naughton | |
| Fritz | ||
| Mercer McCloud | Roger |
When the series was on CBS, it originated from WCBS and was sponsored by Swansdown cake mixes and Instant Maxwell House coffee. Carol Irwin was the producer, and William Brown Meloney was the director. Dougherty Brown wrote the scripts, which were based on Franken's stories. It was broadcast on Mondays from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time.[5]
In 1956, Franken tried to launch a new version of the program. Several entities showed interest in the project, and two pilot episodes were made, but the efforts were unsuccessful.[3]